Brave New World Essay
Mr. Knapp; 2nd hr.
Aug. 28, 2007 Brave New World Prompt I
Quote chosen by class:
“But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.” –John Savage Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a satirical work with numerous strong examples; one such is when the Savage is with Mond and he describes his wants in life saying essentially we must have good and evil. There are two main points of his speech which seem more outstanding examples of satire than the rest. The first is when he says, “…I want poetry….” At first this seems like something simple to be missing from life and has little impact; but when it is analyzed, poetry stands as a beacon of light upon which our culture can find all of its morals and values. Since poetry stands for so much, the idea of eliminating from existence seems to be pure folly of the New Worldians. If poetry were to be applied to the society, the inhabitants would know the meanings of their actions, ways to express themselves by either writing or reading, learn basic and complicated values of life, and above all have a sense of what is pure. This argument can be seen as soon as the Savage is found upon which people discover that he bases his entire system of beliefs off of Shakespeare and his works. The subject of poetry is part of the foundation which culture is built upon though people seldom realize the impact it has on their lifestyles and beliefs.
The additional part of the Savage’s quote that seemed to stand out was, “I want sin.” This catches the reader’s attention because he says it in a sentence all its own and the quote by itself completely paradoxes all other aspects of his speech. This shows the foolishness of the New Worldians because of its level of consequence. To those who believe in God, sin is inevitable. Sin is something that everyone experiences and must work through. Even the Savage, who seems to the reader to be the only pure individual, recognizes his sins at the end of the novel and attempts to make atonements. Sin stands for mans drifting away from righteousness into self-ruin. But it also reminds us that even though man sins, he can be salvaged and given life anew. Since God was eliminated in the New World the people coasted through life blissfully unobservant of the truth that was surrounding them. If they, as a society, could understand sin then the distractions such as “feelies,” sports, sexual freedom, and the all-controlling “soma” would be finished and soon after the government itself would topple and life would start anew.
These two aspects of the Savage’s speech were only some small examples of the satire which Huxley made use of in his novel. Throughout, Huxley made sure that the reader understood that this society was made to warn people of the dangers towards which the world is headed. Huxley’s use of satire during the work and in the Savage’s speech should first open the eyes of the reader, and then open the mind as to how to create a change.
Mr. Knapp; 2nd hr.
Aug. 28, 2007
Brave New World Prompt I
Quote chosen by class:
“But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.” –John Savage
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a satirical work with numerous strong examples; one such is when the Savage is with Mond and he describes his wants in life saying essentially we must have good and evil. There are two main points of his speech which seem more outstanding examples of satire than the rest. The first is when he says, “…I want poetry….” At first this seems like something simple to be missing from life and has little impact; but when it is analyzed, poetry stands as a beacon of light upon which our culture can find all of its morals and values. Since poetry stands for so much, the idea of eliminating from existence seems to be pure folly of the New Worldians. If poetry were to be applied to the society, the inhabitants would know the meanings of their actions, ways to express themselves by either writing or reading, learn basic and complicated values of life, and above all have a sense of what is pure. This argument can be seen as soon as the Savage is found upon which people discover that he bases his entire system of beliefs off of Shakespeare and his works. The subject of poetry is part of the foundation which culture is built upon though people seldom realize the impact it has on their lifestyles and beliefs.
The additional part of the Savage’s quote that seemed to stand out was, “I want sin.” This catches the reader’s attention because he says it in a sentence all its own and the quote by itself completely paradoxes all other aspects of his speech. This shows the foolishness of the New Worldians because of its level of consequence. To those who believe in God, sin is inevitable. Sin is something that everyone experiences and must work through. Even the Savage, who seems to the reader to be the only pure individual, recognizes his sins at the end of the novel and attempts to make atonements. Sin stands for mans drifting away from righteousness into self-ruin. But it also reminds us that even though man sins, he can be salvaged and given life anew. Since God was eliminated in the New World the people coasted through life blissfully unobservant of the truth that was surrounding them. If they, as a society, could understand sin then the distractions such as “feelies,” sports, sexual freedom, and the all-controlling “soma” would be finished and soon after the government itself would topple and life would start anew.
These two aspects of the Savage’s speech were only some small examples of the satire which Huxley made use of in his novel. Throughout, Huxley made sure that the reader understood that this society was made to warn people of the dangers towards which the world is headed. Huxley’s use of satire during the work and in the Savage’s speech should first open the eyes of the reader, and then open the mind as to how to create a change.